Poems (Frances Elizabeth Browne)/On the abolition of slavery in the United States
ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES.
From the fair realms of Britain a stranger I cameTo the land which exults in great Washington's name,To the land disenthralled by free patriot hearts,To the land to which freedom such glory imparts,
To the land where the rights of all men are respected,Where its rulers and statesmen are freely elected,Where no proud aristocracy ever can sway,And no people on earth are unshackled as they!
How, then, can your star-spangled banner still wave(While such freedom ye boast) o'er the head of a slave,—O'er the head of a slave—aye, of millions—as freeBy nature's true birthright, heaven's mandate, as thee?
Born under your flag, on Columbia's soil,Yet born to dark slavery, fetters, and toil,O, the sun of the South darts a soul-sickening rayWhich withers the heart's best affections away!
Not so in your keen, bracing air of the North,Where the first germs of liberty nobly burst forth!In the soil which it loved the tree flourishes still,And a soul-healing balm its sweet flowers distil.
When the red cross of Britain unfolds to the breeze,The manacled captive fair liberty sees;O England, my country! this glory is thine,—Round Victoria's sceptre no fetters entwine.
Americans! freemen! how long will ye bearThat your brethren the dark badge of slavery wear?O, wipe from your standard this stain on its brightness,And undimmed be its lustre, unsullied its whiteness!